The Proverbial Never
by Calypso90
Summary: A series of (chronological) one-shots. James King and Lt. Grace Shepard can't stand each other. Or can they?
1. Chapter 1

So, this is the first in a line of one-shots that I'll be posting. Some will have to do with certain episodes, others not so much. But I still want to maintain a certain chronological progression in the way their relationship develops through out the singular scenes. Of course, neither 'Last Resort' nor any of its characters belong to me. Enjoy!

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After the exerting experience of commanding the Colorado for the first time, Grace needed some time to clear her mind, so she'd taken to wandering around the island. With everything that had happened since they'd arrived, there had never been time to actually take in how serene and untouched it was. It had already turned dark when she'd made it back to the village, strolling towards the small bar that Tani owned. She'd decided a drink or two might help her relax and besides, she wanted to celebrate even if it meant doing it alone.

Apart from a handful of crewmembers sitting at a table in the far corner, most of the guests were villagers. She moved along the bar counter, saluting her officers in return after they'd acknowledged her and took a seat on a bar stool. In that moment Tani chose to reappear from the back of the bar, Navy SEAL King following her shortly after. Judging by Tani's visible blush and his smug smile, there was no doubt in her mind what the two had been up to. She felt something not quite discernible at the observation and quickly wrote it off as just another one of those things that bothered her about James King. Arrogant, stubborn, big-mouthed and utterly full of himself. That's what she thought of him. She decided one drink more than planned was in order tonight.

His smile slipped when he saw her, Lieutenant Grace Shepard, sitting stoically at the bar. Still riding on his adrenaline rush, the first thing he'd done once they'd gotten back from the repair mission was to find Tani and kiss her. He'd spent the night at her place and the past half-hour making out with her in the storage space behind the bar. He felt lighter with her, simply because she had nothing to do with his former life. Nothing about her reminded him of the things he'd done, the questions he needed to answer, the responsibilities he'd taken to neglect. Grace on the other hand had this keen ability to bring everything flooding back. He hadn't taken her seriously before partly because - go ahead and call him a sexist - she was a woman and because he had the feeling neither did her crew. Two days ago though, she'd gained his respect, maybe even a bit of admiration, even though she'd decided to leave him for dead deep down in the pitch black of the freaking Pacific Ocean. But a decision had to be made – him or the crew - and as a fellow soldier he understood. He would have done the same. She caught his eye and he suddenly felt thirsty for a drink.

"Hard day at work?", he asked her with a smirk as he sat down beside her.

She watched him warily unsure of his intentions. "My day off, actually."

"And you decide to end it with a buzz." He winked at her. "Classy."

Tani chose that moment to set a glass down in front of her with a decisive thud and a warning glare, subtle, but obvious enough to any woman. Grace didn't quite know what to make of her. Mostly, she seemed calm and collected, genuine in her demeanor and yet Grace had a feeling she was already one foot off the island. She wondered what it was that kept her here.

With a twist of her wrist Grace sent the auburn liquid swirling and then took a hearty sip without sparing James a glance. "What can I say, I like my bourbon."

The corners of his lips lifted into an amused grin as he ordered himself a beer. If this had been a worse day with bad moods, he knew she wouldn't have let his humorous jibe pass without a provocative quip of her own. Or maybe, she was letting it slide because she felt guilty for practically sacrificing him on the last mission. Whatever the reason, he welcomed the peace. A few moments passed in silence and then…

"You seem good."

James turned to face her sporting a boyish grin. "I'm a guy. Breaking records does wonders for us."

She chuckled despite her best efforts but kept her eyes fixed on her finger tracing the rim of her glass. A deep breath later. "Glad to hear it."

The bottle was halfway to his mouth, when his hand stilled mid-motion. He hadn't expected her to say that. Or more accurately, he hadn't expected for it to sound so heartfelt and that he'd care that it did. Maybe he had suffered some brain damage after all. Every conversation between them until now had either been hurtful banter or heated argument. Nice wasn't something they did, so he stuck to what he knew.

"Sounds a lot like you were worried about me Lieutenant."

The statement caught Grace off guard. Not because of the teasing way he'd said it, but because she'd realized there was some truth to it. She chose not to respond, but then her head turned and her eyes caught his of their own accord and told him what she hadn't wanted to admit. Neither of them spoke, be it out of surprise or embarrassment. And in the silence they both acknowledged that something indefinable had changed between them. Not friends, or even friendly, but something more amicable and tolerable than what they'd been before, which for the record, hadn't been much at all.

In light of the awkwardness, Grace downed the rest of her bourbon and stood to leave. "I think I'll leave it at one, after all." She picked out a note from her pocket placing it underneath her glass. She'd barely taken a few steps around her stool when she stopped abruptly. He waited expectantly as he stared at her back and then she finally turned around with a rawness in her eyes that he'd never seen before.

"Extremely tough." Her voice sounded tender.

He looked at her puzzled.

"On the boat, you asked how tough."

He felt his lips part. Oh.

She didn't give him a chance to respond, already having darted towards the steps. He wouldn't have known what to say anyway. And yet, he did notice how his free hand hovered awkwardly in the air as though reaching out for something that suddenly wasn't there anymore.

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Continue? Yes/No. Feedback appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

For starters, I want to thank everyone who reviewed or has decided to follow this story or has added this fanfic to his or her favourites. I was completely blown away by the response to the first chapter and still am! You can't imagine how much I appreciate it!  
Second, how unbelievably awesome was that James/Grace make out scene?! Third, how unbelievably stupid was it of ABC to cancel the show?! I. Am. Angry. Let's just hope it wraps up well. And to those worrying about whether I'll continue: I will as long as you want me to. Now, enough talk. Enjoy!

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The door to the roof swung open revealing Lt. Grace Shepard one foot already over the threshold when she saw the two SEALS standing by the railing. At the sound of screeching metal King and Hopper turned around rising from their stooped positions as Grace stepped out onto the roof hand still clutching the doorhandle.

"I didn't think anybody was up here."

"Just came up for a breather," Hopper explained neutrally like he wasn't bothered by her intrusion. But it was obvious he was. His dislike for her – and anyone Colorado for that matter – was rolling off him in spades. Not that she cared. The disdain was mutual. But she wasn't going to butt heads with him now. Today had been strenuous enough as it was.

"Kinda had the same idea", she said letting go of the door to cross her arms making sure they knew by her body language that she was planning to stay.

Hopper watched her intently for a moment and then tapped the railing with his hand. "I think I'll get a bite to eat. You coming King?"

Food and maybe a cold beer sounded pretty good to James. And then his gaze flickered back to Grace with a question he hadn't even yet formulated in his head. She'd come up here to be alone that much was clear. Any yet the way her arms relaxed, falling to her sides as she looked back at him wearily and then briefly at Hopper, he decided food could wait a few minutes longer.

"Go ahead." He slapped Hopper on the shoulder pressing his lips together in an excusatory expression. "I'll catch up with you."

Hopper frowned in confusion and then glared at Grace somewhat disgruntled as though all of this was entirely her fault. One day she'd tell him exactly where he could stick it but – like she'd said - not today. Grace watched him pass her and once Hopper had vanished into the stairwell having slammed the door closed in a slightly angered fashion, she walked to stand beside King.

"I would have thought you'd be hungry after saving the day and all?" She smiled faintly at him rocking back on her heels as she grabbed hold of the railing with both hands.

"Good breakfast", he shrugged leaning forward to rest his arms back on the metal bar. It wasn't true, of course. The only things edible that had passed through his digestive system in the last nineteen hours were the go-pills he'd popped earlier. But she didn't need to know that. "As for saving the day, I can't take all the credit." Then he added with a wink. "Even if I'd like to."

"I'm sure you would", she mused with a roll of her eyes. But she wasn't sure at all. James King might have been a stubborn pain in the ass, but he had integrity. He had character enough to acknowledge the strength in others without feeling inferior. Taking credit for someone else's actions, no, that wasn't something he'd ever do. "So, how exactly did you manage it?"

"You mean staying awake?"

She nodded.

"Meds. We get them from the Navy in case we give out in the field and need something to get us up and running again. "

"And the black ops team?", Grace asked curiously.

He looked at her for a moment as though trying to wrangle emotions he didn't want her to see. "I was at the cliffs. Saw them in their boat heading towards the island and then ran straight back to the village. Found a bunch of screaming lunatics scrambling for water when I finally got there." He'd figure out later, why he hadn't mentioned Tani.

The water part was familiar to Grace. She'd seen the some of the villagers still lying unconscious by the spring when she'd gotten back. "And you figured you'd just drop some pills?"

James huffed feeling like this was becoming an interrogation. "I'm a SEAL. I get trained to recognize when someone's been drugged. Most of all when it's done by our own military."

"Right." Judging by the terseness of his voice, he wouldn't appreciate any further questions. "Well, good job."

He chuckled at her words. "Why thanks Lieutenant. Hearing you say that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

"Just take it and shut up, King", she said sternly fighting back a smile.

"So, what happened on that marvelous nuclear tin can of yours?"

The way her lips pressed together tightly and her jaw tensed didn't bode well to him.

"Not exactly smooth sailing." Grace took a deep breath before continuing. "The few shots of epinephrine that were supposed to be in the infirmary were gone. By the time the oxygen system malfunctioned most of the crew had fallen asleep. Captain and I were the last ones still awake. Don't remember when I passed out. Woke up a couple hours later just like everyone else."

The expression on James' face reflected her exact thoughts. Things were adding up and yet somehow they weren't. The symptoms the crew had shown were expected. But the missing epinephrine and the oxygen malfunction happening around the same time a black ops team decides to hit their island base? It all pointed to one simple fact: someone in the crew was a spy; a spy that had sabotaged them. A spy they had to smoke out asap.

Grace stared out at the horizon taking in the red and gold of the setting sun. Inhaling deeply she tried to resolve the battle raging within her. She'd asked King before what had happened in Pakistan but he'd pushed her away decisively. Naturally, she'd kept on pestering him whenever possible. But should she do it now? Somewhere along the way, she'd made it her job to find out the truth from him. It was the key to this whole mess, no doubt. And yet, in this moment, she hesitated because of what he'd lost today. Because finding out the reason for their mysterious exile by the very country they'd sworn to forever protect, didn't seem worth the grief she would cause him by asking. She shook her head absentmindedly - she wasn't usually like this. Not so emotional or sensitive or soft. When things needed to be done, she did them, no matter how uncomfortable they were.

In the midst of dealing with her inner turmoil, Grace didn't notice James studying her. He watched her eyes crinkle as they peered blankly ahead, the way she fiddled with her fingers knotting them together repeatedly, the dent her teeth left behind on her bottom lip as she tried to solve the puzzle that had settled in her head. She looked less like a Lieutenant who was stern and distanced because she felt the need to prove herself, and more like a real person. Someone he could talk to, someone he could listen to. He followed the movement of her hand as it swept back a strand of hair that had escaped the strict ponytail she wore every day. His eyes trailed down the length of it and he wondered for the first time what she would look like if she wore her hair open.

Maybe he'd been staring at her for too long, maybe she'd just noticed his eyes on her or maybe she'd given up on brooding. Whatever it was, it made her turn toward him, made her lock her eyes with his. They were focused again, determined and yet apprehensive. Like she was about to do something she didn't want to do but felt she had to. And that's when he let out an exhausted sigh, knowing exactly what her next words would be.

"Don't." He looked back at her, his voice commanding; yet tinged with a hint of pleading. "I know what you're after, and I'm asking you to let it go."

Of course, he knew. How could he not? He was a soldier, a being of duty, and endurance and responsibility, just like her. It was inevitable to not seek out the 'why'. Why had the black op teams been sent in? What had they been after? It all seemed too obvious to him after today. It hadn't been about drugging the villagers or even the Colorado crew, it had been about killing SEALs, kidnapping Hopper and beating him for information. James had known from the beginning that what his team had done in Pakistan was the ultimate reason for everything that had happened after. He hated the guilt, the shame, the confusion, because frankly, he wasn't quite sure about what they'd done. He'd asked Hopper about Pakistan, about the man they'd assassinated. Following orders - changed last second - lined up the shot - mission accomplished - pulled out no questions asked. He was still trying to make sense of it all. So how could he tell Grace Shepard that they were all stranded on an island, been branded traitors with hardly any hope of getting home because of him, if he didn't know why? He needed her to let it go.

"I can't", she whispered softly, apologetically.

Seconds passed. The air had become so dense, the weight of the situation so heavy, that James let his head fall dejectedly, nodding as though he understood. Grace felt her chest tighten at the sight. This wasn't the James King she knew; wasn't the James King she could handle easily. Her gaze drifted across the dense canopy stretching out around them; it's striking green morphing into a more somber colour under the dusk sky. She didn't know what decided it for her, whether it was one thing in specific or the sum of it all. But she was okay with it.

"For now though, I will."

The gentle words hovered in the silence, gradually sinking into the depths of realization.

Grace was already waiting for him, her eyes trained on the space where his utterly surprised face would be once he turned to reassure himself that he'd hadn't been imagining things. James swallowed tightly at the sight of her, at the sight of her relenting.

He was utterly clueless. "Why?"

It was astonishing, how much gravity such a small word could entail. Honestly, she hadn't figured out why either. Not entirely anyway. But this much she had.

"Because it's been a tough day", she paused. "Because you lost two of your friends. That's enough to bear for one day."

And it was. Tomorrow he'd have to bury them. And some day in the future, he'd have to face their families that had been left behind. Today, though, he'd mourn and Grace Shepard was giving him the peace to do it. He'd never been good with words in situations like these, so he smiled at her gratefully. She sent him a smile of her own in return, serene and full of empathy. This could wait; they had time.

Neither of them spoke as the last rays of sun were swallowed by the blackness of the sea.

In the dark, he decided that if he ever told anyone about Pakistan it would be her.

In the dark, she wondered whether giving up her best shot at finding out the truth had gained her something far more important instead.

In the dark, they stood side by side.

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